{"id":419862,"date":"2010-03-12T09:10:07","date_gmt":"2010-03-12T14:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/?p=128049"},"modified":"2010-03-12T09:10:07","modified_gmt":"2010-03-12T14:10:07","slug":"global-voices-authors-speak-out-against-censorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/419862","title":{"rendered":"Global Voices Authors Speak Out Against Censorship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Internet is the tool most feared today by the elites, the media and by the power. It empowers those who otherwise would remain forgotten, oppressed. It is a weapon that gives ammo to those who are protesting for justice, equality and freedom and that shakes the structures of the state \u2013 and of companies \u2013 which sees no other choice but to censor.<\/p>\n

– Brazilian blogger and Global Voices author Raphael Tsavkko Garcia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Today marks the World Day Against Cyber Censorship<\/a>, an initiative promoted by global NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF)<\/em> in support of a single Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all.\u00a0\u00a0 The day will hopefully inspire Internet users to increase their own awareness of online censorship, which is something that many Global Voices authors know all too well.<\/p>\n

GV author Lina Ben Mhenni<\/a> is one such blogger.\u00a0 She lives in Tunisia, which has been named by RSF as an “enemy of the Internet” several years in a row.\u00a0 In her own blog, she writes:<\/a><\/p>\n

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Do you know how does it feel to be censored?<\/p>\n

Well, I do !
\nIndeed, I am experiencing this DISGUSTING feeling since February, 24th 2010. That day, back home from work, I was so disappointed when I discovered the horrible “Error 404″ message- a message that stands for a censored web page in my country- when I tried to log in my Facebook and my blog.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Diego Casaes<\/a>, a Brazilian GV author who wrote this post on the subject<\/a> linking to bloggers around the world and highlighting Global Voices' many projects, wrote his own prescription for how governments should deal with the Internet on his blog<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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I also think that governments should be encouraged not to regulate, but rather give the proper infra-structure and educate people on how to use the web. This way, citizens will trust the government and be able to freely express themselves on the web: this is of utmost importance! On this matter, I also think companies should become\u00a0 more aware of their influence in society. Google\u2019s decision not to regulate search results in China after having some Human Rights activists\u2019 accounts hacked (follow this link<\/a> for more information) is a demonstration of\u00a0 how companies should position themselves.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Today<\/p>\n

Today is the World Day Against Cyber Censorship<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On his blog, Moroccan GV author Hisham<\/a> answers the question<\/a>, “What does anti-censorship mean online?”:<\/p>\n

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In my humble opinion it means protecting what in some countries has become the last frontier of freedom of expression, which is at the core of all other freedoms; the last place where people can still escape restrictions of oppressive regimes. It means using blogs, videos, pictures, social networks, podcasts and the innumerable tools available online to mobilize people around a cause, expose rights abuses, communicate local struggles and causes to the rest of the world, give voices to the disenfranchised and the minority groups, hold governments accountable, investigate and reveal the truth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Pakistan is not considered an “Internet enemy,” but its online censorship often affects bloggers heavily. Of his country, GV Advocacy author Awab Alvi<\/a> writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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It is my position that the internet should be free and open to the People of Pakistan allowing the people to harness this boundless platform for creating new spaces for exchanging ideas and information<\/a>, the Internet should be considered as a force for freedom and looked upon as a tool for progressing the growth of a struggling nation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lebanon is not engaged in filtering the Internet, but that doesn't stop Layal Al Khatib<\/a> from speaking out about it on her blog<\/a>.\u00a0 This is what being anti-censorship means to her:<\/p>\n

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Freedom! Our most basic right as human beings! We need to be free to express our feelings, thoughts and opinions with no fear of anyone! Censorship by other parties usually ends up with self-censorship, you\u2019ll end up imprisoning yourself if they don\u2019t do it themselves! Which is more dangerous to me..<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lingua Malagasy translator Tomavana<\/a> notes that in Madagascar, the problem is not necessarily filtering, but access, reminding us<\/a> [FR] that censorship is not the only barrier to free expression:<\/p>\n

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Quant \u00e0 \u00e9voquer cette libert\u00e9 d\u2019expression \u00e0 Madagascar, c\u2019est invariablement buter \u00e0 la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 des manques de moyens communs aux pays en d\u00e9veloppement….De plus, avec un taux d'utilisation d'internet de moins de 5% de la population, il s'agit plus d'un avantage suppl\u00e9mentaire que monnaie une minorit\u00e9 de privil\u00e9gi\u00e9 plut\u00f4t que de v\u00e9ritable droit. Je formule cependant le v\u0153u que ces d\u00e9rives ne puissent servir de pr\u00e9texte \u00e0 un mus\u00e8lement ni une censure d'Internet \u00e0 Madagascar mais qu'au contraire son acc\u00e8s soit facilit\u00e9 pour le plus grand nombre notamment par une am\u00e9lioration de l'offre internet accompagn\u00e9e \u00e0 une baisse des co\u00fbts de connexions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As for talk of freedom of expression in Madagascar, is invariably up against the reality of lack of resources common to developing countries….Moreover, with a rate of Internet penetration rate of less than 5% of the population, it is more of an advantage to a privileged, moneyed minority rather than an issue of actual law. But I hope that these deviations will not be used as a pretext for MUZZLING or censorship of the Internet in Madagascar but to provide easy access for many, as well as improvement of the Internet, accompanied by declining cost of connecting.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Internet is the tool most feared today by the elites, the media and by the power. It empowers those who otherwise would remain forgotten, oppressed. It is a weapon that gives ammo to those who are protesting for justice, equality and freedom and that shakes the structures of the state \u2013 and of companies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-419862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419862\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}